Depends on how you look at it....the 717 is junior plane in ATL but its stagnant.....737 and 321 are growing fleets so you might climb seniority a little quicker as planes are added.

Monthly credit / days off / green slips come and go...depends on season, staffing levels, etc.

 

What sounds like a better lifestyle, and what sounds like more money:
NYC 220 vs 7ER?
- are either one disadvantaged for continued seniority accrual?
- though the 220 gets less pay, does the higher seniority over time equal more opportunity for premium or much better schedule?
- what’s the biggest advantage of being a new hire on the 7ER? Thanks.

 

Yeah but once that first 90 days is up in the overall hiring cycle, they're back to the exact same bottleneck going forward for years.

It's just silly that what is clearly designed as occasional temporary relief for special unforcasted risk mitigation becomes the permanent default standard.

 

Went to 7ER as a new hire.

At the time I was hired, they were being handed out all the time in NH classes... Then it stopped. I went to 90% senority, stopped there, then started back sliding as people junior to me left for ER in ATL, DTW and LAX. Before I bid off on the Jan 2020 bid to 73 Captain, I was at 96% or so. No NHs, and guys junior to me leaving when seat locks were up or just moving to a closer base. So a ton of NHs were dumped on it now. Not sure if that will continue. I went from bottom guy, to 90% in about a year, then kept on moving backwards, and was finally starting to move up a bit, but still in the 90s. I basically had more or less equal bidding power to a bottom feeder captain, so I figured if my schedule was going to suck with lots of coverage awards, I'd go make captain money.

Once people started coming back post UNA and also NHs, I went from UNA to 70% on return. I'm about 67% now, but even at that seniority, the trip mix is kinda meh, and as someone who can't get the vax for medical reasons, I looked at going to a "no europe" fleet.

You will build senority much faster on the 220 barring really weird things. 7ER goes crazy junior then international picks up and it becomes popular again, and you hang near the bottom.

7ER pays better, although until you are past a year, they all pay the same.

Advantage of NYC7Er as a NH commuter? 95% of trips are JFK. The 5% that are EWR get snatched up by locals.

In three years, I went to EWR once, and LGA once for a DH. You basically only cover one airport.

Plus you get to do international. If you go ER? My tactic was to bid reserve then yellow slip good international stuff. This was pre-covid of course.

I actually liked Dakar and Accra, so I didn't mind that. You get to go to a lot of secondary Euro cities you will never see on a WB.

Lisbon, Iceland, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Dubrovnik, Prauge. Plus there is still Paris and Frankfurt. Occasionally Munich or Berling. Lots of Amsterdam. Some Copenhagen.
Lots of sports charters too.

 

Many thanks for the informative post. I appreciate it.

 

Loads of NYC. Any guesses as to how long to get to LAX on 73nb? I'm a left coaster.

 

I would bet you'd be able to get it on your first AE on property. Among the bigger surprises as we emerge from covid has been how junior SEA now is. It's set to be the largest west coast pilot domicile and has been a part of various new hire drops over the last few months. If for some reason you had trouble getting LA, which I don't think you will, then you shouldn't have trouble getting somewhere on the left coast.

 

Any advice for what to bid for someone living in Philly as to maximize EWR trips? 73s? 320s?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

737 has the most

 

220 and 737 currently have the most EWR flying. 320 has had very very little if any the last few years but lately there are a handful of trips each month. 7ER used to have a good amount not sure about lately.

EWR tends to ebb and flow between fleets.